CHAPTER XII 



RICE 



Characteristics. Rice is the name of a grass and of its 

 fruit. The botanical name of this grass is Oryza sativa. 

 Like all grasses, rice has very small 

 flowers, but its flowers are unlike 

 those of most grasses in having six 

 stamens. Each rice plant has a 

 cluster of shoots, springing together 

 from the base, and growing upward 

 close together. In size, the different 

 varieties of rice are very unequal. 

 Some of the rice in Pangasinan is 2 

 meters in height; but the usual 

 height is less than i meter. The 

 roots are very fine. 



History. Rice is a native of 

 swamps, and grows in all the coun- 

 tries from Australia across southern 

 Asia to central Africa. It was first 

 cultivated in India or southeastern 

 Asia. It is not known how long ago 

 it was first cultivated; but we do Flr " 78 ' llcad of rice 

 know that it was introduced into China more than 4700 

 years ago, and that it was cultivated in Babylon almost 



